


The Bright Side

by FlashMachine



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship, smut is mentioned but not described
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-01-30 09:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21426208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlashMachine/pseuds/FlashMachine
Summary: Steve's grappling with his sexuality and the fact that he likes Jonathan. Luckily for him Robin is there to help him through it so he doesn't have to go through this alone.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington
Comments: 3
Kudos: 76





	The Bright Side

It was the bane of his existence, Steve hated every single second working at this place, but nothing, nothing compared to how much he hated wearing the uniform, the cheap blue sailor costume wasn't even the worst part of it it was the hat, the "Ahoy" hat that he had to wear, which covered up his self appointed best feature his hair!

It's not like Steve even had much of a choice as to working, having not gotten into a single college that he had applied to his father made him get a job to teach Steve "A lesson" and Steve noticed the mall opening up and thought it was a great chance to get a job not realizing how much he would end up hating the job he eventually did land.

Steve sighed again as if constantly sighing would teleport him out of the new mall.

"What are you zoning out about now, dingus?" his co-worker and friend, Robin asked.

"About how much of a hellhole this is."

"Wow! it's not like you do that every day!" Robin said in a sarcastic tone.

Steve gave off something like a murmur showing his annoyance with robin.

Even with their constant bickering Robin was still Steve's closest friend that was even his own age.

Robin had come out to Steve a few weeks back and when the two of them were closing up the ice cream shop Steve told Robin something that he figured only she would understand, or at least have a little advice.

Steve sighed once again before turning to Robin and saying "Um- I think that I might like guys as well a girls..." It came seemingly out of nowhere since Steve really had no idea how to open up with the topic of his sexuality.

Robin smirks before asking him "What guy made you feel that way?" seemingly not surprised at all to Steve coming out.

Steve himself was taken aback by how casual his co-worker was with this new information stuttering a bit while saying "T-that's none of your business"

Robin smirked once while saying "Okay, okay, fine don't tell me"

By the time the conversation was over the two of them were in the parking lot, each going to their respective cars.

"Night!" Robin said just before unlocking her car.

"Good night" Steve said but more quiet, since he was getting tired out from slinging ice cream for hours on end.

When Steve finally did make his way back home and got into his bed Steve just sighed, again, but this one wasn't the typical type of sigh he let out, it was more as a happy one, feeling like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders and now he could be himself around his closest friend, it was practically all he could think of, just the fact that he was bisexual and that he accepted himself, and he couldn't feel more proud of who he was.

That morning Steve woke up and wanted to get out his house right away, especially without seeing his homophobic father, finally brushing his teeth and eating, Steve put on his uniform and went to Starcourt.

Once he got there he saw Robin, the two of them greeting each other with the standard hello.

"So, now are you gonna tell me which guy you like?" Robin said, bugging Steve since she already tried and failed with this topic yesterday.

"No, and you can stop asking, you aren't going to find out" Steve said with a certain kind of annoyance in his voice.

"Fine..." Robin said, seemingly admitting to defeat.

Customers came and went as Steve and Robin slung ice cream for customers, Steve wasn't paying much attention to who came in, until he saw Jonathan Byers walk in.

"O-oh, hi Jonathan" Steve said immediately stopping his slouching on the counter, as a blush started to form on his cheeks

"Oh, um-- Hi Steve, can I just get a strawberry ice cream in a cone" Jonathan said, not wanting to continue conversation, it wasn't that he disliked Steve, he was just in a hurry.

"S-sure!" Steve said a bit over enthusiastically, giving Jonathan his requested ice cream before he left.

"So, he's the one" Robin said. startling Steve a bit with her words

"What?" Steve said, a bit confused as to what Robin was talking about

"He's the one that made you realize you're bi, isn't he?"

"Not it's nothing like, that not at all" Steve said raising his voice a little, getting defensive. 

"Sure he isn't, it's not like you acted the same way with him as you do when you see a pretty girl, but okay, he isn't the one" Robin said, this time full on smiling.

"Look, it's just-- it's just complicated okay?"

"Not it's not" Robin says, right away, almost like she knew exactly what Steve was going to say before he did.

"What?" Steve said, surprised by Robin's bluntness. 

"It's not complicated, dingus, you like him, so end of story"

Steve just sighed before turning back around, waiting for the next customer to come into the ice cream shop.

Customers came and went, while Steve was again, bored out of his mind, ever since Jonathan walked into the shop it felt like every minute was just an hour.

Work was finally over and the mall was finally over, it was time for Steve to go home and think even more about Jonathan then he already was.

"When are you gonna ask him out?" Robin said seemingly out of nowhere.

"What? I'm not-- I'm going to ask Jonathan out, Rob." Steve said suddenly getting defensive.

"You're not? Sooo, do you plan are ever dating him?" Robin said, getting confused at Steve's answer to her question.

"I do, it's just-- I already told you it's complicated?" 

"Okay, dingus, whatever you say" Robin said just before getting in her car.

Steve got in his car, sighing as he did, not looking forward to go home, in the slight chance his dad would be there, even though Steve already knew the answer to that would be no.

The drive home was silent, no music like Steve usually blared from the car, he just wanted to think, wanted to clear his head and collect his thoughts. 

He finally got home and he was right, no father or mother of his in sight, Steve was tired, almost exhausted. He got undressed, took a shower, brushed his teeth, before getting into his bed just in boxers.

Falling asleep wasn't as easy as Steve hoped it would be, his mind was essentially racing with nothing but thoughts, mainly thoughts of him and his sexuality, and Jonathan.

This wasn't the first time he felt an attraction towards someone of the same age, when he was twelve and saw Superman in theaters he always thought that Christopher Reeves was little cute, but he tried to keep that thought in the back of his head, even forgetting about it until just now. 

Steve rolled around in bed, looking towards the mirror in his room instead of staring at the door, Steve really hated when he started thinking about topics like this, things like sexuality, things without super clear answers, he wishes he was just straight, wishes his life wasn't as bad as it was, he wishes he had actual caring parents, and with all those thoughts rushing in his head Steve starts to break down.

At first it was a single tear but not even a second later he was sobbing and sobbing into his pillow, wishing he could just disappear or at least be like everyone else, to be straight, but Steve never was that lucky and this just proves it. 

"God" Steve whispers, thinking of how much of a loser he truly is, what if his dad saw him, he thought, before quickly coming to the conclusion that his dad would probably just call him a queer again, Steve really never took those insults to heart, until recently, until this summer when sexuality and Jonathan were seemingly all on his mind.

"I'm not gay, I'm not even bisexual" Steve whispers, saying those words as if it would suddenly make him straight.

Steve just really wanted to be considered normal, almost everyone at school thought he was normal, except his parents, which was tough but he could live with it, and except him, which he just couldn't deal with.

He started to think about every time he was an asshole to people like Jonathan, people who didn't deserve at all what Steve was doing to them, people going through their own problems, problems which probably seemed like mountains compared to what he though as an anthill of his own problems.

But at least people like Jonathan had a mom, and a brother, who cared about them, hell, Jonathan was dating Nancy Wheeler, Steve's ex girlfriend for god's sake! 

Crying was tiring, and all of the sobbing Steve was doing truly drained him of every last drop of energy he had that night, Steve ended up falling asleep in the middle of whatever you would call what had just happened, Steve didn't even know how to categorize it.

Steve woke up in a strangely happy mood, he didn't want to question it, who would after they had such a bad night? As Steve was getting ready for the day he realized that it would probably make sense to talk to Robin and see what she would do when she got feelings like that.

Steve's parents still weren't at home, and Steve couldn't even be surprised about something as easy to predict as that. 

Steve sighed before toasting some bread, he could barely cook so he almost always ate that simple to make breakfast. 

Steve went to grab his keys off the car, went to his car and drove to Starcourt. This time however, Steve did have music on, wanting to rather not want to think about thinks like sexuality.

Steve was at work and he wanted to talk to Robin about all his thoughts, he really wanted to, but he just couldn't find out how to properly start off the conversation, especially with the chance of customers coming in the middle of it.

As if they were summoned customers did suddenly walk in, well not really customers that were there for ice cream, they were just there to sneak into the movies, yup, it was all the kids that Steve was 'friends' with. 

Steve sighed before saying "Don't tell anyone else or you're dead!" as he opened the door, so they could all go see some new blockbuster.

Steve went back to the counter, trying to be ready to sling ice cream for any real customers that would come by.

Robin was being almost unusually quiet, most of the time she had some quip ready for Steve whenever he did something. 

Steve turned around and saw Robin zoning out in the break room, it wasn't that she didn't normally zone out, she did it all the time, just not as intense as she currently was.

"What's up with you? Steve asked, generally interested in what his co-worker was doing.

"Oh!" Robin yelped surprised as she was launched out of her trance. "It's just, now-- I-- I have a girlfriend" Robin said as she continued talking but this time in a lower voice, obviously not wanting anyone besides Steve to hear about her new found partner. 

Steve looked surprised "Oh, really? Who is it?" 

"Don't act so surprised dingus, you already knew I was a lesbian" Robin said before continuing talking "And it's Nancy Wheeler, but don't tell a single soul or even go to her about it, or else."

Steve was really surprised now before realizing that if Nancy and Robin were dating that meant Jonathan was now single, now Steve had a chance, or at least he thought until his thoughts came crashing down when he realized that there was almost now chance Jonathan was also interested in men.

"What are you staring at, dingus?" Robin asked, confused as to why Steve was giving off a blank stare.

"Oh-- It's nothing!" Steve said before turning back around and getting back to work

Robin gave Steve a smirk, seemingly guessing that he was thinking about Jonathan.

Just like it did yesterday, the rest of the day seemed to go on much longer then it actually was, once again he couldn't get the thought of Jonathan out of his head, it seemed like every time he had stopped thinking about Jonathan he would find some way to spin whatever it was that he was newly thinking of back to him. 

The mall was closing and Steve was getting closer to the deadline of his chance to talk to Robin so right when the store was empty he told himself he would start opening up to her.

"Hey Robin?" Steve said to his co-worker, avoiding eye contact because of his dread for talking about a subject such as this one.

Robin gave Steve a sound of acknowledgement, letting him know that she had heard him. 

"How did you deal with the fact that you're you know, lesbian?" Steve asked, whispering the word "lesbian" as if it was forbidden.

Robin stood there in silence for a couple seconds, leading Steve to think that he had some how messed everything up, and just as he was about to apologize she started speaking.

"It's, just that I like to think of myself like i'm normal, just like everyone else are the weird ones, y'know" Robin said with a sigh, trying to hold back a tear.

"Oh." Was all that Steve could say in response, not really knowing how to properly response.

The rest of the walk to the parking lot was in silence, a comfortable one, but silence none the less.

Steve got in his car, replaying what Robin had said to him over and over again in his head.

Just pretend you're one of the normal ones, Steve told himself to start trying it, if it got Robin this far, it had to be good, right?

Steve went home and saw his fathers car in the driveway. Steve sighed to himself knowing what it meant, his dad was home and now he had to deal with him. Steve suddenly felt an empty feeling in his stomach as he walked forward towards the door.

Opening the door Steve saw his father sitting on the couch in the living room. They made eye contact and while words weren't said Steve could see the disappointment in his dad's eyes. 

After the brief exchange Steve walked faster upstairs, getting ready for bed as fast as he could before he once again collapsed on his bed crying. This time Steve was trying to be quiet with his sobbing, not wanting to know what his dad would call him if he caught this sight. 

Steve started replaying all of the wrongdoings his father had done to him in the past, all the times his father had called him names like "sissy or sometimes "queer" Steve just didn't want to deal with his feelings and suddenly Robin's advice started playing in his head.

"Just pretend you're one of the normal ones"

Steve started to calm down when he took Robin's advice with a new found confidence in his being. He got really bold, maybe too bold in fact, he decided he was going to go see Jonathan tomorrow, he had the day off so what would be a better way for him to spend it then with the man that he was crushing on?

Steve woke up getting ready, trying to make himself look as good as possible before he headed out, after he was ready he got out of the house quickly not wanting to deal with confrontation with his father or mother.

Steve drove to the Byers house, feeling anxious as ever as he thought about every possible answer that Jonathan would give him.

Steve got to the house and rang the doorbell, very slightly shaking, but it was still noticeable.

Will was the one who answered the door, much to Steve's surprise as he was just expecting to see Jonathan.

"Oh, hi, is your um-- your brother here?" Steve said very awkwardly. 

Will gave him a confused look before responding with "Sure, just give me a second"

Steve was just standing outside of the house, nervously looking on the inside.

Steve noticed Jonathan walking towards the door, he smiled as he noticed his crush walking closer and closer towards him. 

Jonathan was confused as to why Steve of all people would be wanting to meet with him. He politely smiled back at the man before asking him about why he was currently at his house.

"Can I help you?" Jonathan said, coming across bothered even though he really wasn't.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out?" Steve said giving a shy smile towards Jonathan.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow at Steve, but since he really wasn't doing anything he agreed to go out with the other men.

"Oh, sure, why not?"

The two men walked towards Steve's car, with Jonathan sitting down in the seat next to Steve, making his heart beat just a little faster.

Once they were a couple minutes into the road Jonathan asked Steve a question. "So, why did you invite me out here anyway?" 

"I-- I just thought it would be good to get to know each other a little better" Steve said without taking his eyes off the road.

Jonathan smirked at Steve as if seeing through Steve's lie and realizing the ulterior motive he had.

Steve saw this smirk at the corner of his eye and started blushing even more then he already was and too his surprise there was also a light blush on Jonathan's face as well. 

The rest of the drive was in silence, except for the mix tape that Jonathan had inserted into the radio of Steve's car.

The pair got to Steve's house, luckily both of his parents were gone making them the only ones in the house. 

Once they entered the house Steve asked Jonathan if he wanted to watch a movie. Jonathan replied with a "yes" the second that Steve had asked.

The two of them started watching Alien, while curled up on Steve's couch the two of them started watching the movie sitting on opposite sides of the couch, but as the movie progressed the two started inching closer and closer towards each other.

Jonathan had started leaning his face on Steve's shoulder as if it was the most normal thing ever. Steve of course was extremely surprised by this, he welcomed it but none the less he was surprised. 

The movie continued and Steve started laying his own head on Jonathan, the two cuddling on the couch for the rest of the film. 

The movie ended, and not sure what to do next Jonathan made a bold move.

He inched his face closer and closer to Steve's before kissing him.

Jonathan had kissed Steve.

Steve's eyes widened when this happened, not expecting it in the slightest, but after the initial surprise he started kissing back. 

The two ended up making out on Steve's couch, only breaking away for air. 

"Come with me" Steve said as they continued to the man's room.

The two had a fun night, doing something every teenager hopes to do with their crush.

Jonathan had ended up sleeping over at Steve's house, the two having a nice restful slumber as their eye's grew heavier. 

The two woke up that morning, it was peaceful, just the two of them in Steve's house. Allowed to be themselves during their private moments.

"So what are we?" Jonathan asked as he turned to Steve

"Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? Steve said as he turned to Jonathan, kissing the boy. 

Jonathan and Steve both smiled after the kiss, enjoying the company of one other.

The two were now stuck with each other, happily being the best boyfriends they could from now on.


End file.
